Warsh Fed holds rates steady. Trump says 'It's all right. Whatever.'

Source: Reuters

June 17, 2026 5:44 PM EDT Updated 6 hours ago


June 17 (Reuters) - President Donald Trump on Wednesday expressed confidence in Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh after the new central bank chief concluded his first rate-setting meeting with ​a decision to leave interest rates unchanged and published projections that showed nearly ‌half of U.S. central bankers feel a rate hike will be needed this year.

"It's all right. Whatever," Trump said in France, when asked what he felt about the Fed's decision to hold interest rates ​steady.

Trump had repeatedly railed at Warsh's predecessor, Jerome Powell, calling him a moron ​and a knucklehead, among many other names, for not cutting rates. Trump ⁠says that the central bank ought to lower borrowing costs to help the housing ​market, boost the economy, and reduce the cost of the government borrowing.

But on Wednesday, Trump ​had no such words for Warsh, whom he has said looks like he comes out of central casting for the part. "It could happen," Trump said, when asked about the possibility of a rate hike. "It's hard ​to believe. It just keeps the country down and it's so, it's so, unusual. ​But we have a very good guy over there right now so I'm guided by what he ‌wants."

Read more: https://www.reuters.com/world/us/warsh-fed-holds-rates-steady-trump-says-its-all-right-whatever-2026-06-17/